


How To Train Your Inner Dragon

by RedDawnWrites



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - How to Train Your Dragon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Night Furies (How to Train Your Dragon), Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:34:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28014030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedDawnWrites/pseuds/RedDawnWrites
Summary: long ago the Dragon's were hunted to near extinction. In order to survive the ancient dragons learned how to morph themselves to appear human. Harold "Hiccup" Haddock is one of those dragons. His focus is on getting good grades in high school to get a scholarship that is until he sees the new girl.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Comments: 17
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

Sixth Year should only be about stressing and studying for Highers, and in Hiccup’s case Advanced Highers for Design and Manufacture.  
Sixth Year should not be about plummeting straight down after being knocked out of the sky in dragon form, prosthetic leg (and therefore tailfin) torn off with one well-aimed spell.  
“Aaaaaaaaa—!” screamed Hiccup, flailing wildly in midair. It was fun to dive as a dragon, to aim down and tuck his wings in to speed up, body straight and narrow, plunging down steep cliffs and pull up just in time to skim the surface of the lochs. To actually do it, in human form, with no position and wings to cushion the fall, well, Hiccup is not recommending this method of escaping a battle with an angry dragonhunter.  
“—aaaaaaahelp-help-help-He—”  
Something tackled him from the side, great claws clutching his body and squeezing just a little too tight for Hiccup to breathe properly. He’s lost too much breath screaming and the claws are positioned almost exactly on his lungs.   
“Astrii—d, ‘elp,” he managed to choke out, but the wind and the angle of the flight drowned out any voice he can muster. Above him, Astrid grumbled something in reply, and the claws loosened just enough for him to take a big gulp of air.  
While flying on his side. In midair. Close enough to the ground that his gulp of air turned into a hacking cough to spit out the insects he accidentally inhaled and subsequently choked upon. Hiccup all but clawed at his throat to spit the disgusting bugs out and wiggled so much that he began to slip from the dragon’s claws.  
In response, Astrid tightened her grip, and Hiccup’s breath was once again stolen as Astrid glided down to the ground at a steep angle. He panicked, struggling against the claws, and the claws suddenly opened all the way out. He managed to get a yelp out before hitting the ground on his left side. The momentum of his fall rolled him across the grass, and Hiccup, beaten, tired, missing a prosthetic leg and having eaten some insects while being rescued, also got a dizzy brain for his efforts.  
“Uuugh,” Hiccup groaned, and sat up. This was a Big Mistake, as his fall, the insects, and his roll along the grass all combined to make the contents of his stomach very unhappy, and he threw up his breakfast of supermarket sushi all over the ground next to him. Then he leant back and curled up on the ground, because throwing up was painful and he’s going to have some bruises from Astrid’s claws.  
‘We really need to work on Astrid’s catching skills,’ Hiccup thought, wincing from where the claws dug in his chest and back. Footsteps pounded against grass, and suddenly Astrid was there, in her human form, helping him sit up.  
“Hiccup! I’m sorry—are you alright?” she asked worriedly.   
“Glurgh.”  
“What?”  
“Erglgerhg!”  
“Hiccup, what are you—”  
“Erglming!” Hiccup yelped, in all his bruised throat glory, and took Astrid down with him as he ducked from the gout of flame Grimmel sent in their direction. Astrid swore.   
“Stay there, don’t move. The others are coming,” she ordered, standing up as if to transform, “I’m serious, Hiccup, you can’t exactly fly right now!”  
‘No! You’ll be hurt!’ Hiccup wanted to say, but all he managed was a weak “murgle-burg!”  
Astrid took a running start, and just like that, Hiccup’s gaze was filled with a blinding light, where Astrid’s braided hair turned into spines, wings burst out from her back, and the clothes mysteriously disappeared as scales replaced skin. The pure white of her scales contrasted greatly with the angry snarl on her dragon face, and she rocketed up in the distinctive violet blur that only Night Furies can create. Her transformation had always taken his breath away. She’s so…ethereal.  
Grimmel’s staff swung down, and the bright light of the freezing spell she barely dodged made Hiccup scramble up, ignoring the slight dizziness in his head. Astrid needs his help, and not for the first time, Hiccup cursed his disability. He looked around the grass for any sign of his prosthetic, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in the grass mountainside, only a few patches here and there of dodged spells burning marks onto the soil.   
“Looking for this?”  
Hiccup turned, and his eyes widened. There stood the Thorston twins, Ruffnut standing with a smirk on her face, and Tuffnut behind her, holding a badly damaged, midnight blue prosthetic leg.  
“You could have told us you were a dragon, dude, not cool,” Ruffnut complained, grabbing the leg from her brother and handing it to a stunned Hiccup. “You would have been less lame and more interesting.” “I don—”  
“Oooh!” Tuffnut pointed behind them, jumping up in excitement, and Hiccup turned back just in time to see Astrid take the chains off the Gronckle, and Chris, also known as Fishlegs, detransformed and started screaming as he fell. Astrid dove down to rescue him, ignoring Grimmel who was also falling due to his dragon being unexpectedly humanized.   
“Oh Fishlegs,” Ruffnut sighed, before clapping a heavy hand on Hiccup’s shoulder, making him cough.  
“Hurry up and beat the lights out of that weird guy, all right? We’ll get Fishlegs. Come on, Tuffnut.” “But I want to see the battle!”   
Ruffnut grasped her brother’s ear and pulled him with her, leaving Hiccup to figure out what to do with the prosthetic. The mechanism to attach it to his foot was broken, but the belt to secure it to his fin was somewhat intact. It wouldn’t stand up to another spell, but Astrid was there, risking her life for him. He can’t just sit here and let the dragonhunter shoot her down, he has to do something!  
Hiccup pulled himself on two arms and one leg, shaking his head to remove the headache that built up there. He adjusted the prosthetic into what he called Dragon Mode and spread the tailfin out. It was, as he expected, singed along the edges, but it would have to do. He concentrated on the knot of power that was always present in his chest, the one that whispered to him ever since he was born. Power washed over him like a great tidal wave, and Hiccup let himself get carried away with it.  
Transforming was different for every dragon. Their ancestors used human disguises to blend it better with humans during a time where dragons were hunted down. Some feel the transformation like putting on a shirt; others feel like stripping off clothes. Astrid once admitted to Hiccup that her transformation felt more like pulling a sword out of a sheath, while Hiccup always felt his transformation like the smooth grind of gear against gear. After a brief second where he had to adjust having dragon vision once again, Hiccup quickly rolled on his back and used his claws to attach the artificial tailfin to his tail.  
Far above them, Astrid screeched. It wasn’t one of victory.  
‘No!’  
Hiccup launched himself up, careful not to graze the tailfin. He could not do steep turns with this faulty tailfin, so he had to be careful. Grimmel already had a significant advantage, that he had a captive Gronckle and that he had magic. And Hiccup had committed one major design flaw: his artificial tailfin was bright red, which in retrospect may not be subtle at all when it comes to angry dragonhunters. He needed to be careful…until he saw Astrid.  
Astrid, who had a worryingly large hole in her left wing. Astrid, who slowed to a steep decline down to the ground, obviously bracing herself should she ever transform back to humanity.  
Hiccup’s gaze was filled with purple fire.  
The dragon’s spines went rigid. Blue light ringed the edges of each spine, starting from his tail all the way to his head, and Hiccup’s mouth was filled with blue fire. Earlier, they had been caught off-guard— no one really expected their stern, long-winded Maths teacher to be a dragonhunter, much less someone who can fling rocks at them with a wave of a big stick—but now Hiccup was angry.   
He let loose the fireball that built up in his mouth, creating another just as the first hit a shimmering shield. The second detonated at the ground next to Grimmel, sending chunks of soil, grass, and smoke in hi direction. Enough for a cover as Hiccup flew as fast as he can next to Astrid.  
Astrid stumbled as she hit the ground in a roll, transforming back to humanity and clutching her arm; Hiccup saw the large red bruise on her left bicep, and he snarled. Grimmel took this opportunity to sweep his arm around and cause giant ice spikes to form in a ring surrounding the three of them.  
On one side, Grimmel was there, hair singed, and suit ruffled with dirt. On the other side, Astrid was in human form, glaring hatefully at Grimmel while clutching her arm. Next to her, Hiccup was in dragon form, guarding over Astrid and keeping his tailfin close and as hidden as possible.  
“What a wonderful time to be a dragonhunter.” He said, and despite themselves Astrid and Hiccup both rolled their eyes. Was this guy seriously going to monologue like he does in their classes?  
“Imagine, two of my students, dragons!” he laughed, and Hiccup drew back at the sound. “The engineering genius, and the football queen. Truly a wonderful time indeed! And both of them Night Furies!  
Tell me, Hofferson, Haddock, how did you two do it?” Grimmel asked, walking slowly towards them. “How did you both turn into Night Furies? Did you coordinate? No one at school thought you two were together!”  
‘We aren’t together,’ Hiccup thought, but his claws dug into the soil as he readied another fireball. The ice spikes would take some time to be broken down, and the flying…well, flying was sort of out of the question now.  
Grimmel batted away his fireball, redirecting it to the sides as he continued to talk. “What cursed magics did you to pretend to become us, creatures? What did you sacrifice to become the beings of darkness as you are?”  
“Is he serious?!” Astrid exclaimed, and would have thrown her hands up if she wasn’t bruised. Grimmel was getting close now, and Hiccup threw yet another fireball, discreetly inching backwards. They were getting cornered, and as they experienced earlier, physically fighting was not an option.   
In the distance, something popped, like someone removing the cap off a cola.  
Hiccup’s eyes widened, and he extended his wings to cover Astrid as the blob of molten lava hit the ground in front of Grimmel. Even through the smoke and debris, he could see how the liquid could have splashed all over his body. No matter, this was the distraction he’s been waiting for.  
Hiccup formed several fireballs and started frantically shooting at the ice spike behind him. Astrid had transformed again, apparently rejuvenated, just as the ice spike cracked, hissed, and fell apart in a shower of steam and broken ice shards. He immediately scrambled out of the ring, Astrid at his heel, and together they turned to look at Grimmel.  
He was nowhere to be found.  
White dragon looked at black dragon in confusion and dread.  
To the left, Chris reappeared, looking both confused and scared. He was the one who threw the molten lava blob, and he looked like the effort of chewing that many rocks were more than he can take, given how he looked as green as his dragon form.  
“Uh, where did Mr. Grimmel go?” he asked, clutching his stomach and groaning.  
As if on cue, Hiccup and Astrid detransformed at the same time. The tailfin fell, and without any support Hiccup all but collapsed into the ground. However, a hand on his back prevented him from being a human puddle on the floor.  
Astrid Hofferson looked at him up and down, as if checking him for any damage. Then she looked back to where Grimmel had been, at the crater of molten lava, and looked extremely worried.  
“We’ll—we’ll find him,” Hiccup offered, feeling more than a little bit useless during that fight. “Sorr—”  
“What are you sorry for?” Astrid asked him, before letting go of his back. He had to support himself on his two arms, but that was okay. He was looking at Astrid.  
“You saved my life, Haddock.” Astrid said, “Thank you.”  
Despite the pain, the humiliation, the chaos of today, Hiccup still found Astrid’s smile to be brighter than the sun.  
Looking at the carnage of their battle, however, Hiccup wondered how he could explain this mess to his dad…


	2. Chapter 2

Sixth Year started by Zack saying, “Great news, cousin, the neighborhood princess is also going here!”, to much applause by his gang and jeers to Hiccup. “Of course,” he added, “that means no one here is allowed to mess with her, alright? She’s going to be my girlfriend.”   
‘Will she accept someone whose name in primary used to be Snotlout?’ Hiccup thought, having never seen this ‘neighborhood princess’ before. Still, he endured Zack’s taunts with silence and nervous smiles, not wanting to get dunked in the toilet before class even started. He had plans this year, most of which involve getting out from this town and away from his dad’s influence. Having secretly applied for Advanced Highers, he needed to concentrate on that as well as his current classes if he needed to succeed as an inventor.   
That all fell apart as soon as Astrid Hofferson walked into their English class.   
Something twinged in Hiccup’s chest, where the knot of power that is his dragon form resided. As Astrid was introduced as their new classmate, he sat in confusion as his instincts told him to get closer to the new girl, despite having never known her before.   
“She’s hot,” Zack said, not so quietly.   
Astrid smiled sweetly. “Jorgenson. Or should I say Snotlout?”   
From the raucous laughter of the class, Hiccup concluded that she’d fit in just fine. And she did; she would ascend the ranks of the female football team, despite the efforts of Reyna “Ruffnut” Thorston to beat her in being the co-captain, she would ace all of her exams and be the school’s favorite, and she would constantly refer to Zack as Snotlout, so much that his reputation would suffer greatly.   
But nothing would beat the Hall Incident.   
Hiccup wasn’t looking. He never does, not when he’s attended this school his entire life, since he started secondary school. He knows where to go, what paths to take, which shortcuts to help in against being late. Being an inventor required a degree in mechanical engineering, at the very least, and he had no intention of losing a chance at a scholarship in Glasgow or even London. Whatever his dragon instincts might be saying, he loved creating and tinkering with his projects more.   
So when he turned the corner to find himself smashing lips first into Astrid Hofferson, he was very much distracted. Worse still, it was lunchtime, and rumors were floating around that Hofferson kicked Zack’s arse in fencing, which he was good at and bragged about to anyone. Hiccup hadn’t heard of anything from Zack lately, which meant that rumors might have some truth in it.   
He was already spluttering a lot of “Sorry, I’m so sorry,” and “I didn’t mean it, I swear,” to her when she laughed. Out loud. In the middle of the hall.   
Everyone turned to them, Zack and his gang included, and Hiccup’s ears turned red. But he didn’t stop apologizing.   
“I’m really sorry I didn’t mean it I swear I just wasn’t looking—”   
“What’s your name?”   
“—really sorry, I—what?”   
“Your. Name.” Astrid said, emphasizing each word.   
“Uh, Harold. Harold Haddock.”   
“Hiccup!” Someone yelled in the background, and the mass of students laughed. Hiccup frowned at his feet.   
“What’s Hiccup?”   
“My, uh, nickname.” Hiccup replied, before opening his mouth to say something that would definitely distract her and make her forget that she ever heard that his name was Hiccup of all the stupid nicknames. But she was looking around them, at the other students that gathered in the hall.   
“Well? What are you waiting for? Don’t you all have classes to attend to?” she all but yelled, and the students scattered like wind.   
“Why Hiccup?” she asked when there were only a few stragglers left.   
“It’s uh, it’s because I hiccupped a lot as a kid.” Hiccup wasn’t about to tell her that the reason he was named Hiccup is because he had a bad habit of hiccupping in dragon form as a child, and that led to more fires than Stoick and Valka probably should have put up with. It was embarrassing to admit that that the nickname had grown on him, but still. “Y’know, because I stole too many eggs…ha, ha, ha…” “Oh.” Was all Astrid said.   
Expecting this reaction to his lame hiccup joke, Hiccup turned to go, ignoring the pang in his chest to stay longer in her presence, but then she said, almost whispering,   
“I think it’s cute.”   
When Hiccup turned around, she was already gone. But the knowledge that she thought his stupid nickname was cute made him feel like he was on Cloud Nine, and just like that, Harold “Hiccup” Haddock III had a crush on Astrid Hofferson.   
He tried. He really, really tried. Focusing on his projects always worked; Gobber was more than happy to give him the spare room in his repair shop, but as soon as she walked inside the room, he would go tongue-tied and silent in her presence. It’s frustrating, but she’s so bright she can light up any room she walks in. Every time she’s in his line of vision he basks in the content feeling his chest emanates, like feeling whole or coming home. It’s maddening, and distracting.   
Especially when he needs that scholarship. He needs that Advanced Highers. Hiccup blows out an exasperated groan in the back room of Gobber’s repair shop, and stubbornly ignores the lost feeling in his chest.   
“What is it now, lad?” Gobber yells, almost drowned out by the sound of welding metal.   
“My leg!” Hiccup lies and grabs his pain ointment just in case Gibber checks in on him.   
The older man never did, and Hiccup goes home that night, satisfied with his work but still feeling that ache in his chest.   
As a dragon, he would do loops inside their aerie, under careful watch by her mother in her dragon form. The prosthetic leg works well, but what he needs is to adapt it to turn into a fully-functioning tailfin when required. He’s doing one more sharp but short dive when the Stormcutter dragon cuts him off and leads him down.   
“You’re distracted,” Valka noted, once they’ve both transformed back.   
“What? Noooo…” Hiccup drew the syllable out as he inched his way inside, hoping to avoid this interrogation.   
“Is it about the Highers? You’ll do more than fine, Hiccup.” Valka said, “And if you didn’t, it’s not the end of the world.”   
“It’s not that,” Hiccup hedged, gathering up his notes on his aerial maneuverability. Pens go here, notebooks go here, where’s his cellphone… “Is it,” Valka paused, “is it a girl?”   
Hiccup yelps as his shock causes the items in his arms to drop to the ground. “What do you mean? No…? Ha, ha, ha, why would even think that, Mom,” he laughed nervously.   
“You’re a terrible liar,” Valka sighed, before brightening up again. “So tell me about her. Is she beautiful? Have you talked to her? Of course, you’ve talked to her—”   
“I kissed her,” Hiccup blurted out, hastily snatched his items up from the ground, and ran away from where her mother transformed back into a dragon just to do a victory loop-de-loop.   
Later at dinner, Hiccup’s hopes for a quiet night were dashed when Valka gleefully informs Stoick that their boy fancied a girl.   
“About time!” Stoick boomed, grinning, “When I was your age, I didn’t know Valka was a dragon, but I loved her as soon as we met! Why, it was like destiny was pulling us together…”   
Hiccup tuned out the rest of his father’s words. He’d heard this story before, where they met while Stoick was herding sheep to be eaten later and Valka had come over to steal some for her own meal and somehow, despite all their arguments, the two fell in love. It was all very romantic, and not at all like what he felt for Astrid.   
…or is it?   
“Wait, wait Dad, wait,” Hiccup interrupted his dad’s recounting of their first flight together, “how did you know Mom was your Mate?”   
“It was like an invisible pull,” Stoick said, poking one stout finger into Hiccup’s bony chest, “where our dragon’s power resides.”   
“Our ancestors made it so we can find Mates without needing to shed our disguise,” Valka elaborates.   
“So we know who’s a dragon and who isn’t?”   
“Essentially, yes.” Her mother answers before going on about the destiny and shared future of dragon Mates. Hiccup nods absently, but he’s stuck on the last part.   
Tomorrow at school, Hiccup resolves to confront Astrid. Maybe he’s overthinking things. Maybe he’s just attracted to her like any boy is attracted to a girl, but if his parents are right, then maybe, just maybe, Astrid is a dragon too.   
But honestly? His luck really isn’t that good.   
Before he can think of how to ask Astrid, the principal comes into their room and introduces Mr. Grimmel, the new Maths teacher.


	3. Chapter 3

It was Astrid who figured it out first. Actually no, Hiccup was just being stupid. Grimmel was an exacting teacher, prone to making monologues and going on and on about religion, so much that it hurt to stay in the same room with him and not sleep or run away. The itch to get closer to Astrid was especially strong today, and he refused on account of well, he’s pretty sure she’d going to punch him if she wasn’t a dragon. Or maybe stare at him like he was insane. So after escaping Grimly, he all but ran to the nearest forest and transformed into his Night Fury form, grateful for how relaxing it is to spend time in his true form.   
He did not count on finding another Night Fury.   
Hiccup reared back on his haunches as the other Night Fury, with the coat of white and an angry snarl on her face, began to breathe fire at him.   
The fire washed over him, and suddenly he was grateful for every time her mother breathes fire on him to get him used to the temperature. His scales blocked him from most of the heat, but they were Night Furies. Rarest of the dragons. The heat of their dragonfire was hotter than any other dragon.   
As far as he knew, he was the only Night Fury on British soil. So who was this other dragon?   
The other Night Fury (‘Light Fury’, Hiccup thought, finding the pun unreasonably funny) snarled at him again. In response, Hiccup rolled on his back, baring his soft underbelly and letting his tongue roll out in playful motion. To his delight, the Light Fury just looked confused.   
‘Friend,’ he tried to say. ‘Friend, friend, friend.”   
Her body language read, ‘Confused. Not enemy? Same dragon?’   
‘Yes, yes. Same dragon!’   
‘Same dragon heart pull?’   
Hiccup blinked. ‘What does dragon heart pull mea….oh no.’   
He righted himself and sat down, eager to confirm his suspicions. “Astrid?”   
The Light Fury reared back and spat out another fireball at him, which he absorbed mostly, but some ended up on the trees behind him and despite the cold weather of Scotland he isn’t going to risk a forest fire. He whacked his wings on the burning branches to stamp out the flames, but when he finished, the Light Fury was gone.   
‘Well, that won’t do at all,’ Hiccup thought, and went back to school. Sure enough, Astrid was there, chatting with the other girls on her football team, looking like she never left. But Hiccup’s chest ached once again, and this time, he knew.   
“Haddock.” She said, once she finished her conversation with the other girls. “Need anything?”   
Hiccup took a deep breath. Then another. Then one more for courage.   
“Dothewordsdragonheartpullmeananythingto—”   
“Slow down, Haddock. What was that?”   
“I said, do the words ‘dragon heart pull’ mean anything to—”   
“YOU?!”   
Astrid’s voice caught the attention of every girl around the field with how loud her voice is, and they stood in stunned silence at each other before Astrid dragged Hiccup away from the field and into the sports inventory room.   
“You’re the Night Fury.” Astrid started, staring hard at him. Hiccup can’t meet her intense gaze, but he did scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. His chest sang with contentment, and he felt calmer than he really should be at that moment.   
“Uh, well, yeeess…?” he said in reply. Smooth, Haddock.   
“You’re a dragon too?”   
“Yeah. Yeah I am.”   
“You can fly?”   
At this, Hiccup was confused. “Of course...?”   
“Teach me.”   
“Wait…what?” Hiccup was shocked; he has never encountered a dragon before that didn’t know how to fly. “You don’t know how to fly…?”   
Astrid straightened up, as if to brace herself for a hit, verbal or otherwise. But all Hiccup could do was stare at her.   
“Sure,” Hiccup finally answered. “Sure, I’ll teach you.”   
Well, if nothing else, then he’d feel a lot better if he spent more time with Astrid, considering the pull between them.   
In the months following this confrontation, Hiccup would spend his days in school, his afternoons in   
Gobber’s shop, and his evenings teaching Astrid how to fly. School was more or less a routine at this point, and Mr. Grimmel stopped being relevant as soon as someone reported him to the school admin for not really teaching Maths properly, which was a relief, really.   
With every lesson, the dragon in him sang, Hiccup pined for Astrid, but she seems to give no indication of this no matter what he said. So he remained silent. And life went on.   
Which brought him to the here and the now, staring at the carnage of the mountainside, with an ice wall and gouges in the grass, and three dragons amidst all of the chaos. Oh and their weird, cringey Maths teacher was apparently a wizard and a dragonhunter. Go figure.   
“We’re doomed,” Hiccup said.   
“No, we aren’t, Astrid shot back, but in the months they spent together, he could hear the change in her tone as clear as day. Unsure, it said to him.   
“Well, what are we going to say to the school, ‘oh our maths teacher somehow figured out that there are dragons in this school so he captured one and used it to find the others, who also happen to be both Night Furies, which are definitely not the rarest dragons in the world’,” Chris rambled, throwing his pudgy arms up in exasperation.   
“We could lie…?” Hiccup suggested, and Astrid gave him a baleful look.   
“How’s your leg,” she asked, so suddenly that Hiccup took a while to answer.   
“Oh, uh, nothing I can’t fix at Gobber’s shop.”   
“Okay,” Astrid said, just before she kisses him on the cheek.   
Hiccup freezes. Chris, for his part, abruptly turns and heads back to the ice wall.   
“What was that—”   
“I survived Mr. Grimmel because of you, Hiccup. For your lessons. And well, I’m tired of pretending that I don’t like you.   
“You were pretending?!”   
Astrid nodded, while Hiccup is aghast at this. For months—months!—he was trying to put forward that hey, maybe he liked her, and that maybe she liked him back, maybe they could spend more time with each other than the lessons.   
“Oh.”   
“Yes.”   
“Uh, then can I kiss you?” Hiccup blurted out, and then followed it with, “Sorry if that seems too abrupt, I mean, we already did kiss before and I felt the pull way back when you arrived at school and we fought a wizard together—”   
Astrid cut him off with a kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

“I didn’t tell her!”   
“And I should believe that?” Zack scowled, boxing Hiccup in with his arms. Honestly, they were unreasonably big, but maybe that’s because as a Monstrous Nightmare, his wings are really big as well. Though it wouldn’t explain why Zack is stout while his dragon form has a really long neck.   
“I’m serious! You know I’m studying for my Advanced Highers this year,” Hiccup pointed out as his eyes searched for an exit.   
Zack exhaled. “Look, Hiccup…”   
Hiccup gulped.   
“Cousin. How could she have known that stupid nickname if you didn’t tell her?”   
“I don’t know, ask the hundred other people in this school who were also with us in kindergarten!”   
It looked like the effort of thinking about it was taking a toll on Zack’s brain, so Hiccup, desperate to escape being beaten up or stuffed in a toilet, decided to offer their other neighbors to the proverbial altar.   
“You know the twins weren’t there in the classroom, right? They were late, like always. They could’ve gotten to her before she entered the classroom. Also, Tuffnut invented that nickname, didn’t he?”   
Zack scratched his chin as he considered the possibility. Hiccup resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the new growth of a moustache on his face, as if it made him more handsome instead of being a giant prick.   
“Huh, you’re right, Hiccup. They weren’t there at all,” Zack conceded, but then he leaned in really close, so much that Hiccup could smell cigarette smoke and sulfur on his breath. Sometimes, Hiccup wondered just how Zack hasn’t revealed the existence of dragonkind when he doesn’t even try.   
“But I find out that you’re the one who told her…”   
Zack shook a threatening fist at him. Hiccup pressed himself closer to the wall.   
“…you’re going to regret it.”   
Zack grinned nastily at him and started to walk away, but because Hiccup really can’t keep his mouth shut, he yelled back, “You can’t even catch me as a dragon!” and promptly bolted from the quadrangle.   
No one was around at this time anyway, so the dragon remark would not be noticed, but the resulting bellow of his cousin would definitely be, and he sprinted straight across the field to avoid his cousin’s headlong charge. Hiccup laughed as he ran back to the main building, certain that he would be paying for that remark later, but only as a human. In dragon form, a Monstrous Nightmare could never hold up to a Night Fury. Not even one with a prosthetic tail. Speaking of prosthetic…   
His mad dash had used up all the oil in the knee joint, which meant he had to swing by the lockers to get some. Hiccup decided to spare himself the trouble of grinding out the knee joint and simply limped to the lockers. Zack wouldn’t follow him here, not when it’s too crowded and the old hall monitor, Gothi, watched him like a hawk. Gothi raised Stoick, his father, and will look out for Hiccup too, for which he was eternally grateful for.   
She also happens to be a Terrible Terror, but a skirmish with a Snow Wraith had stolen her voice in both human and dragon form. Hiccup waved at her, and she raised her staff back in a ‘hello’ gesture.   
His locker had lost its hinges and the lock itself during his many years in this school, to be replaced by an alarm he designed himself. Zack once tried to open it by force and he activated the entire sprinkler system, which got him suspended for a week while Hiccup only got a slap on the wrist. Hiccup chuckled to himself; good times.   
“What’s funny?”   
“Ah!”   
Astrid Hofferson, the new girl, was looking at him. Hiccup stared, wide-eyed, as his heart seemed to beat double time in his presence, and the knot of power in his chest pulsed warmly. The urge to get closer was growing, and Hiccup curled his hands around the door of his locker as he tried to steady himself.   
“Wh-what?”   
“You were laughing. What’s funny?”   
“Uh, well…I just remembered the one time my cousin tried to get inside my locker and accidentally set off the sprinklers.”   
“Your cousin?”   
“Zack,” Hiccup clarified.   
“Snotlout?” Astrid asked, and the way she said the horrible nickname made Hiccup want to laugh again, before remembering exactly why he was in the lockers in the first place.   
“Oh yeah!” Hiccup all but yelled, before wincing in embarrassment. “Sorry, I mean, Hofferson, who told you about that?”   
“About…?”   
“The ‘Snotlout’ thing.”   
“Ah.” Astrid leaned back against the lockers and crossed her arms. “Why do you want to know?”   
“N-nothi—”   
“It’s Snotlout then. Ugh.” Astrid shook her head in disgust, and Hiccup was distracted by the way her golden braids shook as she moved. “Is he a bully?”   
Hiccup shrugged. Honestly, Zack was arrogant and proud, but everyone, his parents included, thought that it was just the influence of his father, Sean Jorgenson, who was a piece of work in his own right.   
“He’s worse when we were kids, but he’s better now,” Hiccup said, honestly.   
“That’s just an excuse,” Astrid scoffed, but then she looked at him properly, as if she’s examining him for any damage. Hiccup resisted the very dragon urge to present himself and preen for her.   
“Did he do anything?”   
“No, he just asked who told you that.” Hiccup answered, hedging the truth a little bit. After all, that really did happen, there was just a lot more posturing and threatening involved.   
“What does he care?” Astrid muttered angrily and opened her own locker. Hiccup took this opportunity to pry his fingers off the locker’s edge and grab his oil, as well as the rest of his schoolbooks.   
“What’s our first subject?” Astrid asked, her voice muffled by the twin metal doors between them.   
“Maths, I think.” Hiccup squinted at the schedule haphazardly posted on the door of his locker. “Yeah, Maths.”   
“How’s the teacher?”   
“Mr. Bludvist can be a little strict.”   
“How little?”   
Hiccup winced. He braced his prosthetic leg on the handle of the locker below him and poured oil on the edge of the ball joint, twisting his leg left and right to make sure it was fully functional. Upon returning the oil, he found Astrid clutching a stack of books, looking curiously at his prosthetic. He expected her to ask about it, since people usually do, but she merely stared at him steadily.   
“I asked, how strict is he?”   
“So long as we sit down and follow his instructions while making as little noise as possible, he’s fine.”   
“…and if we don’t?”   
“Mr. Bludvist has been rumored to have beaten up kids before.”   
Astrid blinked.   
“Sorry, what? What the bloody hell kind of school is this?”   
Hiccup shrugged again. Books in bag, check. Oiled up leg, check. Pretty girl that makes him want to dance around her in dragon form, double check. Also, the swearing is hot. Astrid led the walk towards the classroom, with Hiccup at her right and a few students loitering at the edges of the hall. Some of them were shivering, he noticed, and he caught a few wisps of their conversation.   
“—so scary!”   
“He’s a psycho, that’s why—”   
“Why did they ever hire him…”   
“Is that Mr. Bludvist?” Astrid asked him quietly.   
“I…don’t think so?” Hiccup was used to Mr. Bludvist and his heavy handedness, but he hadn’t ever reduced someone to tears like that girl being surrounded by her friends. Hiccup couldn’t make out the individual messages with how low they were whispering, but they were definitely first slot Maths students.   
As they walked towards their classroom, Hiccup was abruptly reminded that a, he had pissed off his cousin, and b, it was about the girl next to him. From the voices inside the classroom, it was clear that Zack had arrived before him.   
“Uh, Hofferson, I think I need to—”   
“Your cousin?” Astrid finished, raising a single golden eyebrow. Hiccup nodded. She waved him away and stepped inside the classroom. Hiccup’s inner dragon mourned, but he shoved it down as far as he can and waited.   
From the other end of the hallway, the principal was walking towards him, as well as another tall figure. Hiccup’s eyes widened. There was only one way the principal would come out of his office, and that is to personally introduce new teachers to the students. He hastily stepped inside the classroom, almost tripping on the slight incline, before yelling.   
“Incoming!”   
Everyone froze. There was a beat where everyone stared at Hiccup and Hiccup stared back.   
Then Chris shoved his definitely-not-stolen-at-all books in his bag, and there was a flurry of movement as chairs were straightened, trash was picked up and thrown in the trashcan or shoved in bags, hairstyles were fixed, and people sat down and tried their best not to look like they’ve been halfway to start dancing on the tables like this was a club and not an academic institution.   
“What happened to Mr. Bludvist?” Zack hissed at him in confusion, but before he could reply, Hiccup was distracted by the principal’s entrance. As usual, Principal Clodgall was short and looked like a used car salesman, but all the attention shifted to the person that came after him.   
“Mr. Grimmel, this is Class 6A. Students, meet your new Maths teacher.” Principal Clodgall said, his voice coming out in a monotonous drone. If he didn’t do this for every new teacher, Hiccup would suspect that he hates his job. But no, he just speaks that way all the time.   
Mr. Grimmel’s most noticeable feature is his chin, long and pointed like his face had been stretched downwards. The next feature is his shock of white hair, which he looked too young to be the owner of. Hiccup squinted at the roots of his hair; either he did a very good job of dyeing his hair, or his natural hair color is actually white. Evidence for the latter appears to be his eyebrows, which are also white.   
“Hello, my children.” He purred, and Hiccup’s dragon senses just about exploded.   
He sat up, straightening his back out of instinct, and his eyes never left the new teacher’s profile. In his peripheral, he could see that Zack had also straightened up, as well as Chris and a few other disguised dragons in this class. He angled his head to the left, still not removing his gaze, and found the same reaction with Astrid.   
There was something wrong with the new teacher, and all of them knew it.


	5. Chapter 5

“Honestly, we should have known by then,” Astrid said, while they were lounging on one of the many hills that dotted the Highlands. “The whole dragon thing—”  
“and Mr. Grimmel being a dragonhunter?” Hiccup added, looking at her curiously. “When?”  
“First day of class.” She answered, flicking a stray leaf at him. “We all sensed it. I just didn’t realize you and about half the people living in this town were dragons.”  
“Eeeh, well, y’know, we have history…? Hiccup mumbled out. “We’ve been here a long time.”  
“Huh,” Astrid said. “Must be nice to have history like that.”  
Hiccup frowned. “What do you mean?”  
“We’re nomads. The entire Hofferson clan never stays in one place. Mother says it’s because most of us are Deadly Nadders and don’t really stay in one place, but I think it’s because of the humans on our home island.”  
“Home island?”  
“Yeah, Iceland.”  
Hiccup’s eyebrows shoot up. “Really?”  
Astrid looked at him curiously. “Yeah, really. Wow, your clan never had to move from the Highlands?”  
“No,” Hiccup shook his head. “When the Clearances came, we just pretended to be one of the Queen’s Men. At least, that’s how my father tells it.”  
Astrid fell silent for a while as she chewed that over. Hiccup fidgeted with his brand-new prosthetic leg, repaired just days after they fought Mr. Grimmel.  
“I’m the only Night Fury in my clan,” Astrid said, so suddenly that Hiccup almost flinched.  
“Well, yeah, we’re pretty rare—”  
“No, Hiccup,” Astrid cut him off, and her pretty blue eyes were locked on his, unwaveringly. “You don’t understand. I’m the only Night Fury in my clan. For generations since we left Iceland.”  
There was absolutely nothing Hiccup could say to that.  
“Wh-what do you want me to say?”  
“Doesn’t it bother you?”  
“What?”  
“That we’re the only Night Furies in the world.”  
“Are we?”  
“My mother says they’ve never met another since our ancestors left.”  
“I met your mom,” Hiccup pointed out. Astrid shoved him lightly, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. He decided to count it as a victory.  
“Oh, you know what I mean.”   
“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”  
Astrid stared at Hiccup. Hiccup stared back.  
They hadn’t really talked about the kiss. There was the matter of reporting the entire incident to Hiccup’s dad, introducing the Hoffersons to the rest of the Berk clan, Hiccup’s Advanced Highers, and many more things to be done. This is the first free time they’ve ever had, and they spent the first hour practicing how to clutch a person properly in their claws. Which, in all honesty, is more out of routine than anything else.  
“Do you think…” Astrid chewed her lower lip, looking apprehensive. “Do you think destiny exists?”  
“Not really,” Hiccup replied.  
“We came here because of a freak storm. We were supposed to be in the Outer Hebrides by now.”  
“I’ll be sure to thank the storm, then.” Hiccup replied, words spilling out of his mouth easily.  
Astrid gave a bark of laughter, and whacked Hiccup’s arm. “Hey!”  
Hiccup grinned. His inner dragon wanted to soar.  
“Do you think it’s a coincidence that we met?” Astrid said, sitting back on the grass.  
Hiccup shrugged in reply. “If it is, then I suppose I’m extremely lucky.”  
“That was…almost smooth,” Astrid acknowledged. “What happened to awkward, stuttering Hiccup?”  
“He got shot by his Maths teacher in midair,” Hiccup replied, without thinking, and both of them winced as the memory. “Sorry,” he offered. Astrid waved it off.  
“I’m sorry, too.”  
There was a beat, before. “I don’t like destiny.”  
“Huh?”  
“I think we should work for what we have, not because it was already written for us. Don’t you think?” Astrid asked.  
She was going somewhere here. If it was what Hiccup was thinking…  
“What do you mean?”  
Astrid huffed and threw her hands up in exasperation.  
“A date, Haddock! I’m asking you out on a date!”  
Oh. That was…not what he was expecting.   
His inner dragon screamed with delight.  
“Uh…”  
“What, Hiccup?”

To be continued


End file.
